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Judith Starkston

Judith Starkston has spent too much time exploring the remains of the ancient worlds of the Greeks and Hittites. Their myths and clashes inspire her fiction and open gates to magical realms. She has degrees in Classics from the University of California, Santa Cruz and Cornell. She loves myths and telling stories, and her novels imbue fantasy with the richness of ancient worlds. The first book in her Trojan Threads Series, Hand of Fire was a semi-finalist for the M.M. Bennett’s Award for Historical Fiction. Priestess of Ishana, the first in her historical fantasy Tesha series, won the San Diego State University Conference Choice Award. Judith is represented by Richard Curtis.

hybrid creatures human headed winged bull, Assyrian

Hybrid Creatures, Monsters, and Demons

Clearly, I’m a fan of the delightful hybrid creatures of the ancient Near East. Griffins appear (part lion, part eagle) in my fiction. I often point out the prevalence of griffins across the Mediterranean and Near East as portrayed on the architecture, seals, and other forms of art. I sometimes say in jest that given how often they are depicted, maybe they really lived on earth at some point.

But seriously, why are there so many hybrid creatures across the many cultures of the ancient world? Why do many versions of Egyptian gods have human bodies and animal heads, for example? I have wondered.
An interesting article offers an intriguing theory. Maybe I buy it, maybe not–but I’m having fun.

Bog man Tollund man

Bog Man’s Last Supper: the Archaeology of a Meal

A man’s last meal, 2400 years ago during the Iron Age in what is now Denmark, undergoes a fascinating analysis, but I also want to know the circumstances of his mysterious death. Culinary history meets murder mystery. Read on!

Egyptian Cartouche at Luxor

The Egyptian Cartouche: Magic & Political Propaganda

Have you ever wondered where the pharaohs got the idea of representing power and identity with an Egyptian cartouche? The answer involves both magical rituals and propaganda, according to David Lightbody.

Bronze Age Silver Trade, example of hacksilver

Archaeology: The Bronze Age Silver Trade

How does a Bronze Age Hittite pay for something when barter isn’t an option? Coinage wasn’t around yet, so he or she couldn’t use the obvious means that would occur to a modern person. In this post, I look at some new evidence to answer this question.

Roman Hierapolis

Archaeology: Roman Hierapolis, Portal to the Underworld

Hierapolis is a place in Turkey I’ve never been, but I want to see the amazing hot springs and a gate to the underworld. Who can resist a city with a temple to Pluto that spews the poisonous breath of Cerberus?

HNS NA logo for conference

HNS Conference Begins with Creative Format

This week I’m attending and speaking at the Historical Novel Society NA Conference. It’s virtual this year, of course. The conference designers have cleverly exploited the benefits of that online existence to make up for some of the downsides. I’m enjoying the new ways to interact that the conference has created.

seal impression and cylinder seal

Archaeology: Seal Leaves an Impression

Seals and their impressions on clay play an important role in my novel Priestess of Ishana. So I was intrigued by an article about a particularly old seal impression—7,000 years old—excavated in Israel that indicates it was used for “business security.”

Women's voices in a photo image of a clay tablet in its envelope written in cuneiform Assyrian

Archaeology: Women’s Voices from Mesopotamia

Understandably, contemporary historians often bemoan the lack of women’s voices from the past amidst the male-centered records of events. Fortunately, the clay tablets containing letters from Assyrian women (about 1860 BCE) provide a refreshing exception. They are full of business savvy, a range of concerns for the well-being of their households and, unlike the male business correspondence of this place and time, strong emotions.